When
Stinney was arrested, his father was fired from hisjob
at the sawmill. His family was ordered to leave town immediately
or endure retribution.

Fearing
for their lives, they fled.

Without
family visits and support, this unsophisticated boyhad
to endure his trial and death all alone.

1944,
April 24: TRIAL 2:30PM: trial begins

TESTIMONY

SHERIFF
[only evidence]: “Stinney confessed”

[no written record; NO corroboration.]

DEFENSE:
politically ambitious TAX ATTORNEY,

asked for change of venue; DENIED.

NO
other witnesses were called.

5:00PM:
Jury sent to deliberate.

5:10PM:
Jury issues verdict, “GUILTY”.

Stinney's
Attorney chose NOT to appeal.

1944,
June 16, 7:30PM: EXECUTION

Stinney
was too small [5'-1”, 95 pounds], for the adultsized electric chair.

Phone
books and/or the Bible he carried to his execution were needed for a booster seat in order for him to get strapped in and reach the electrified helmet.

2014,
December 17 CONVICTION VACATED.

This
project started in December 2014 when I answered an invitation from Jennifer Marsh, [Dream Rocket project and others], to create a
tribute to George Junius Stinney, Jr. After reading about this case,
I felt compelled to make a tribute. My art will join that of others
in a traveling exhibit.

Because of recent events in South Carolina
and Texas, where people were judged by the color of their skin, I
believe this exhibit is more important than when I began. The
persecution of people because of the color of their skin has to STOP!For more information about Stinney, check out the links below.http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/exonerated-after-execution-judge-tosses-teens-murder-conviction-n270176

These both show the photo I used to make the portrait.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/george-stinney-jr-black-14yearold-boy-exonerated-70-years-after-he-was-executed-9932429.htmlhttp://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/1/20/new-evidence-oldwoundsinscexecutioncase.html

Thursday, July 2, 2015

This small quilt evolved from my emotions when looking at the scans of a baby at 20 weeks. The whole story is below. I created it for the 'Sacred Threads Exhibit ' in Herndon, Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. It will be on display July 10 - July 26, 2015. Hope you have a chance to attend.

Precious

11 3/4" x 35"

Precious, detail

The Story:

In
October 2014, I saw scans of a baby at 20 weeks of age. I was
totally surprised at the development. The open eyes really caught my
attention. What did the baby see? I could not get this image out of
my mind. At this time, I was also told that it is a viable birth.
Because the parents did not want to know the sex ahead of time, I
could not call this little one he or she. I did not want to call the
baby an it. I thought the baby very precious. Thus, Precious,
became the baby's name.

As
the holidays passed, I still thought about the images I had seen. I
wanted to share these with others. I had known about Sacred Threads.
Upon discovering the show was this year, I emailed the mother of
Precious for copies of these images. From these images, a quilt was
developed specifically for the Sacred Threads exhibit.

While
new technology allows me to print in any color, my design decisions
included printing the images in black and white so that they look
like photographs.

I
chose the color yellow for many reasons. Yellow is the lightest hue
of the spectrum. It is also the color of the room where the newborn
Precious will sleep. Yellow is considered uplifting, illuminating,
full of hope, happiness, cheerfulness and fun. Yellow is considered
the best color to create enthusiasm for life. It is said to awaken
great confidence and optimism.

The
color yellow is also the color of the yolk of an egg, nourishing the
growing embryo inside its' shell. Thus, it symbolically nourishes
Precious in the womb.

I
chose the color purple because it symbolizes spirituality,
creativity, dignity and royalty. Purple is also the most powerful
visible wavelength of the electromagnetic energy field.

I decided to do a gently gathered border, using a very soft fabric because I thought the baby needed to be cuddled. This turned out to be trickier than I thought it would be. However, with knots of gold thread holding it in place, my vision came to life.

I
am sure all will agree this child is very Precious. Definitely worth
more than gold. Thus, I used gold thread as a symbol of the worth of
this spirit filled being.